Timothy Venning’s series of alternative histories explores the pathways of British events from the Anglo-Saxon Age to the English Civil War. In this volume, he presents an in-depth analysis of the Tudor period. Venning discusses the fateful moments at which history could easily have taken a different turn.

In a fascinating series of “what if” scenarios, Venning presents a detailed look at the possible and likely results. While speculative, the scenarios are all plausible and rooted in a firm understanding of actually events and their context. In so doing, Venning gives listeners a clearer understanding of the factors at play and why things happened the way they did, as well as a tantalizing view of what might have been.

Key questions discussed include:

– Did the pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck ever have a realistic chance of a successful invasion/coup?

– If Henry Fitzroy, Henry VIIIs illegitimate son, had not died young, might he have been a suitable King?

– What if Edward VI had not died at fifteen but reigned into the 1560s and 70s?

– How might the Spanish Armada have succeeded in landing an army in England, and with what likely outcome?